1980 About us …

Computers OMG..

When attending a trade fair in New York in 1980, Thomas Fattorini became aware of a new ‘computer controlled’ engraving machine, developed by a company called Dahlgren Inc based in San Francisco, USA . At this time the only method of neatly engraving name badges was using a pantograph. Although accurate, pantographs took a long time to set up and to engrave a single badge.

At some risk, he ordered two engraving machines for the company at the fair (serial numbers 7 and 37). These well engineered elegant machines were a fantastic break-through for engraving personalised name badges – making them instantly affordable.

The rest is history …

These machines were programmed using a Radio Shack TRS-80 computer (Pre Microsoft PCs) with 16K of RAM, a control unit, and engraving table with a 6″ x 8″ working range and a basic cassette tape player to load up the programs. Will Dahlgren, the pioneering engineer who designed these amazing machines was also known as known as the “father of computerized engraving.” What a dude!